As a procedure for getting in a vehicle during a rainfall, a passenger opens a door of a vehicle and folds an umbrella, and he/she thereafter gets in the vehicle. Accordingly, until he/she enters a vehicular compartment after folding the umbrella, he/she is exposed to rain. In order to protect from the exposure to the rain, various rain shelter control systems are proposed. For example, JP-UM-A-6-32143 discloses a rain shelter control system wherein an actuator for driving the opening and closure of the rain shelter is connected to the corresponding rain shelter disposed in the doorway. Further, a rain sensor for detecting rain, and a door switch for detecting the opening or closure of the door are disposed, so that when the door is opened in the rain detected by the rain sensor, the rain shelter is opened or expanded by the actuator. Thus, the passenger who gets in the vehicle can get in without being exposed to the rain, and he/she can save the trouble of opening and closing the rain shelter.
With the prior-art rain shelter control system, however, the rain shelter does not open before the door is opened. In getting in the vehicle, therefore, the passenger must first open the door and wait for the opening of the rain shelter, and he/she must thereafter fold his/her umbrella and get in the vehicle. That is, he/she expends a time period longer than usual in getting in the vehicle.